An Investigation into the Relationship Between College Students’ Extracurricular Involvement and Leadership Development in the Sultanate of Oman
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Date
2019-07
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The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
Research has shown that students’ engagement in extracurricular activities have a wide range of influences on their overall development, particularly on the development of their leadership skills and competencies; other studies present contrary views. This research investigates the relation between students’ involvement in extracurricular activities at college and their leadership development. It also examines this relationship in terms of possible differences between male and female college students. The underpinning theories for the study are the student involvement theory (Astin, 1984), the Input-Environment-Outcome’s model (Astin,1993) and the Kouzes & Posner’s model of leadership. The study adapted a mixed-methods approach, using quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative data was collected by using the Extracurricular Involvement Inventory (EII) and the Leadership Practices Inventory (SLPI): the EII was developed by Winston & Massaro (1987) based on Astin’s theory of student involvement, to measure the quality and the quantity of the students’ involvement in extracurricular activities. The SLPI was developed by Kouzes & Posner (1988, 2013), to measure students’ leadership development. The qualitative data was also generated from students’ interviews. The study Data was collected from (213) college students. ( 52.5%) of them were male students and (47.5%) were female students from four universities in the Sultanate of Oman.
The Findings of the study showed a significant positive relation between students’ involvement in extracurricular activities at college level and their leadership development. Further analysis of the data revealed that students who held leadership roles in extracurricular activities were more likely to develop their leadership practices. However, the results of the study did not show any significant differences between male and female students with regards to the involvement in extracurricular activities at college and to their leadership practices.
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Keywords
Student activities., leadership development, Sultanate of Oman, leadership skills